The European Commission approved a €5bn French aid package aimed at facilitating the export of wines and spirits to the United States. The program is designed to help French wine and spirits exporters ship their stocks to the U.S. before new tariffs come into effect.
On 2 April, the U.S. announced punitive tariffs on a wide range of EU goods, including 20% duties on products such as agri-food items and beverages like wine and spirits. However, these tariffs were temporarily suspended for 90 days starting 9 April. Although the EU responded by suspending its own planned countermeasures, uncertainty about future tariffs remains. As a result, many exporters of wine and spirits are now rushing to ship as much product to North America as possible within the 90-day window — operating on the assumption that U.S. trade will seek to stock up during this time. However, this effort is often hampered by a lack of urgently needed export credit, which is in short supply across the EU, but necessary to mitigate the risks of such transactions.
France — whose wine and spirits sector is heavily reliant on exports to the U.S. (valued at €3.8bn in 2024) — had therefore requested EU approval to reactivate a credit insurance framework known as Cap Francexport, which had already proven effective during the COVID-19 pandemic. This tool is intended to protect exporters when private insurers are unwilling to cover certain risks they deem too high.
On 8 May, European Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera approved the temporary €5bn support package for the French wine and spirits sector under EU state aid rules. The industry portal Just Drinks quoted Ribera as saying: “The Commission has acted swiftly in approving France’s request for this export reinsurance scheme.” The Commission concluded that the French measure is “necessary, appropriate, and proportionate” to support wine and spirits exports to the U.S. during this limited period. Ribera added: “Given the potential EU-wide shortage of export credit for the U.S. during this time, the Commission will apply the same approach to all comparable cases reported by Member States.”
